Customer Who?

The Not to DO leader loses site of the fact that there is more than one customer waiting for them everyday.  In fact, the Not to Do leader may not have much contact at all with the customer who pays the invoice - others are doing that for them.

The To Do Leader realizes that the end (external) customer, who pays for the product or services is just as important as the internal customer - peers, team members, service personnel, technicians.  Each person in the organization is a customer of one another - some directly, some indirectly.

It is by creating an atmosphere of customer service internally that the external service proposition offered to end users of the product or service benefits the most.

No longer are customers an interruption to anyone's day, the customer is the reason the day exists at all.

Freeze?!

It's winter - let's talk about the FREEZE!
Does your boss do this?  Freeze?
When it's time to make a decision, do they just walk away and not decide?
When they hear the President is coming to visit, do they just stop and not know what to do next?
When they are confronted with a problem or by a customer, do they just abdicate to someone else?
I call this the freeze.
Unlike the polar bear, this boss/leader does not like the lonely cold, even though they signed up for it when they started out in the world of work.
It can happen at any level...the situation will not go away unless you deal with it to resolution.  You can not run from it or ignore it...fixing the problem, handling the customer, making a decision is the only way to move forward.
Like the polar bear in the picture, you may need to tread lightly and be very careful about where you are going, but you can get there...just try.
Stay warm.

Pass the Buck

Don't you just wish it was a smile that you had on your face when you boss passed the buck?

It happens. Projects get off the rails and instead of accepting responsibility for the results or lack thereof, the boss shifts the blame to you, or your team or some intangible aspect of life....like 'ran out of time'.  Unfortunately, by not accepting responsibility, the boss is damaging his reputation as well as that of the team.  It comes to a point where everyone know what will happen and morale gets lower and lower until other actions take place - you leave, the boss gets moved or removed, others leave, customers complain and/or leave...leading to the worst result-closing. 

Now that may sound a little extreme, but in a time when customers vote with their feet or their mouse on how they spend their money, and employees can look for other options while on the job, the potential can be devastating to a company that is passing the buck.  After all, what is done by one person can lead to the erosion of reputation, brand and market share.

What to do?  Ownership is key.  Be an honest, truthful leader and give the buck back.  Do so tactfully and with respect including an explanation as to why the buck is going back...and ideas on potentially avoiding the same situation in the future.  Your reputation depends on it.